1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for securing and more particularly to an apparatus for securing a filter to a valve member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Aerosol containers have found wide spread use in the art and are used for dispensing a large variety of products. Among the more recent aerosol products are the powder products which are dispensed from the aerosol container in a substantially dry form. These powder products consists of small powder particles which are forced through an internal orifice in the valve member and/or valve button by a propellant inside the container. Unfortunately, the distribution of particle size of the powder particles cannot be economically controlled and accordingly, many of the larger powder particles clog the internal orifice of the valve member or valve button. Many valve members and valve buttons are equipped with filters for filtering the large particles from the internal orifice within the valve member or valve button to prevent clogging. These filters are generally secured to the valve member by adhesive means. Adhesive securing is both time consuming and expensive in view of the fact that many manufacturers require testing of all aerosol valve products. The prior art has failed to provide an apparatus for mounting a filter to a valve member which is reliable, inexpensive, and adapted for enabling testing of all of the valve members.
Therefore it is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and provides an improvement which is a significant contribution to the advancement of the pertinent art.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for mounting a filter to a valve member comprising a valve member holder, securing means and means for interposing the filter between the valve member and the securing means for securing the filter to the valve member upon activation of the securing means.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for mounting a filter to a valve member including storage means for storing a plurality of valve members with singulator means arranging the plurality of valve members in a single file and orienting means for arranging the valve members in a preferred orientation for loading on the valve member holder.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for mounting a filter to a valve member including welding means for welding the filter to the valve member and concomitantly severing the portion of the filter secured to the valve member from the remainder of the filter.
Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for mounting a filter to a valve member including sonic or ultrasonic welding means for welding a portion of a filter web to the valve member thereby leaving an aperture in the filter web and including sensor means for sensing the presence of the aperture in the filter web to determine whether the filter has been secured to the valve member.
Other objects and a fuller understanding of this invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention, the description and the claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.